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Haiti’s transitional presidential council dismissed Prime Minister Garry Conille this week, a move that plunged the Caribbean nation deeper into political crisis as it grapples with rampant gang violence, the Washington Post reported.

The council named businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as Conille’s replacement in a decree signed by eight of its nine members.

Conille condemned the move as unconstitutional and insisted that the council lacked the authority to remove him. Citing the constitution, he claimed that only legislators could legally dismiss a prime minister.

The council’s decision has intensified Haiti’s constitutional crisis, where no democratically elected officials remain in office. The president’s office has been vacant since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and parliament has been empty since early 2023, with no elections held since 2016.

The transitional council was created earlier this year in response to the escalating violence, with international backing from the United States and other countries, to steer Haiti toward elections by 2026.

However, relations between Conille and the council soured amid disputes over cabinet reshuffles and calls to remove three council members accused of bribery, the Miami Herald wrote.

Conille’s dismissal drew international concern, with diplomats cautioning that the instability within Haiti’s transitional government undermines efforts to restore security and provide aid.

Political observers worry the dismissal could further embolden heavily armed gangs, which control an estimated 85 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Gang violence has displaced thousands and created a severe humanitarian crisis, with nearly half the population facing acute food insecurity.

A United Nations-approved multinational security force led by Kenya was deployed this summer to combat the gangs, but it has struggled with limited resources and has been criticized for making little progress.